PC Plum Wiki:PC Plum Wiki
The Life and History of Police Constable Damien Plum Police Constable D. Plum (225) was a police constable protecting the people and wildlife of the Balamory Islands with Police Scotland. He had served prior to his station on Balamory with the Edinburgh Tactical Firearms Unit (TFU) and 45 Commando Royal Marines. PC Plum never married and lost connection with many of his family members. This Wiki article will explain the life, achievements and history of PC Plum. Iraq and Afghanistan Damien James Plum joined 45 Commando Royal Marines at the age of 17 after leaving high school. His father, Robert Dunn Plum had served with 1 battalion the Parachute Regiment in the Falklands, Kosovo and Bosnia, so Damien felt a need to serve his country. After passing out of Lymphstone, Plum was assigned to 3 Alpha Coy. (Company) 45 Commando as a light machine gunner (LMG). Plum progressed through the NCO hierarchy, eventually achieving the rank of Corporal. When the Iraq war began, Plum was sent with Alpha Coy. to northern Iraq. Alpha company took few losses in combat engagements, and upon their return to the United Kingdom, Plum and two men of his section were awarded distinguished service medals. After receiving his distinguished service medal, Plum was transferred to X-Ray Coy. Royal Marines attached to the United Kingdom's Special Forces SBS (Special Boat Service). By this time, Plum was a Sergeant and had his eyes set on commissioning. Shortly before 2009, X-Ray and Whiskey Company merged, working as a multi-disciplinary team alongside both 22 and 21 SAS and the SBS under 3 Commando Brigade. Sergeant Plum deployed with the SBS to Afghanistan in 2010 as part of Op Herrick (2010). He was sent to Lashkar Gah in Northern Afghanistan, where he would spend most of his tour. Lashkar Gah Incident (September 2010) In September of 2010 when out on a section patrol with X section SBS, Sergeant Plum was engaged by an overwhelming Taliban force. Plum ordered his men to enter a corrugation ditch and promptly return fire. After 6 minutes, Plum realised his Signaller (Lance Corporal Harry Roberts 1998-2010) had been shot and killed, leaving their section without communications to the teams at Camp Bastion and their local FSG. Plum jumped the corrugation ditch and ran to the body of Lance Corporal Roberts, heroically pulling it back into the ditch whilst under small arms fire. Plum wired Roberts' PRR H4885 UHF radio system into his own and began requesting fire support. (An inquest into the engagement later revealed that the teams at Camp Bastion responsible for launching AH64 Apache Longbow Helicopters did NOT follow the proper procedures and, in turn, endangered the lives of X Section SBS and Sergeant Plum.) Roughly 25 minutes into the engagement, Taliban Insurgents began launching rocket propelled grenades at X-Section, forcing them to relocate firing positions further down into the corrugation ditch. This move was ''a deliberate attack ''on the part of the Taliban, who had strung a line of IED's (Improvised Explosive Devices) along the bottom lining of the corrugation ditch. After Plum gave the order to relocate, two men from X-Section stepped on one of the IED's, killing them instantly. (Their names were never revealed to the public or at the inquest under the Special Operations Forces section of the Official Secrets Act 1989 (OSA89)). What followed is heavily controversial. Sergeant Plum ordered the retreat of his personnel opting to leave both infantry men and Harry Roberts in the corrugation ditch after disfiguring their faces and removing sensitive material. Plum stated at the inquest: "I, as the section commander, felt it necessary to preserve the lives and welfare of the men still alive, than the dignity of those we had lost. It is a decision I regret heavily and I doubt I will ever be able to forgive myself..." Discharge and Civilian Life The inquest into the 2010 Lashkar Gah incident found Sergeant Plum innocent of any accusations or negligence, however Plum promptly requested discharge. He was honourably discharged with stripes for his service in 45 Commando and X-Section UKSF (Special Boat Service). He struggled to cope with Mental Health issues and diagnosed PTSD after his time in both conflicts. In 2015 he was hospitalised in Camden after a failed attempt on his own life. Category:Browse